Nurturing Residential Creative Retreats
Finding inspiration in the natural world, being in community, and nurturing your creativity
**** Retreats coming up ****
July 24th - 27th
September 8th - 12th
December 15th - 18th
July 24th - 27th
September 8th - 12th
December 15th - 18th
WELCOME TO A WILD PLACE ON THE EDGE OF SHEFFIELD. Discover a sense of place and your place in it through sketching , community and quiet moments. Away from urban life and technology. Join us for a magical creative retreat to nurture yourself and your creativity
Residential retreats in a beautiful rural location surrounded by fields, woodland, moors, lizards, curlews, hares, lapwings, and a resident barn owl. The perfect environment to unwind, experience community and be inspired to sketch and paint
Based in a stunning Grade II listed cottage located up a track and off the beaten path
From the tiniest star-shaped mosses to the vast sweep of valley before us, our sketchbooks record the slow time we have spend contemplating our environment. When we sketch and paint we look more fully and for far longer than usual as we do our best to understand and capture the beauty. We connect with nature on a deep and personal level and we are nurtured.
Back to Nature for creative inspiration - Be inspired by the natural world with nature Journalling, sketchbook skills, exploring new materials and techniques, and sharing inspiration. Discover how to capture a sense of place in your image making.
Away from the usual day to day pressures; encouraging slow time with moments of deep relaxation, simple meditation (and digital detox if you wish*)
Community - Sharing meals, inspirations, cooking, and living space. There will be an opportunity to share some light cooking tasks (full instructions given), You will share a bathroom and bedroom with one other person (the rooms are large enough to have the space to find your cosy corner, and although it be unfamilior to share a room it is surprisingly easy). I will be organising lift shares to limit car use as much as possible as the car parking is very limited. And by having lift shares we begin to build our community even as we arrive.
Time to share, time to be alone in nature, time to Refill the Well and return renewed - You are invited to look after yourself, take time out when needed, participant in group activities as much and as little as you wish.
Residential retreats in a beautiful rural location surrounded by fields, woodland, moors, lizards, curlews, hares, lapwings, and a resident barn owl. The perfect environment to unwind, experience community and be inspired to sketch and paint
Based in a stunning Grade II listed cottage located up a track and off the beaten path
From the tiniest star-shaped mosses to the vast sweep of valley before us, our sketchbooks record the slow time we have spend contemplating our environment. When we sketch and paint we look more fully and for far longer than usual as we do our best to understand and capture the beauty. We connect with nature on a deep and personal level and we are nurtured.
Back to Nature for creative inspiration - Be inspired by the natural world with nature Journalling, sketchbook skills, exploring new materials and techniques, and sharing inspiration. Discover how to capture a sense of place in your image making.
Away from the usual day to day pressures; encouraging slow time with moments of deep relaxation, simple meditation (and digital detox if you wish*)
Community - Sharing meals, inspirations, cooking, and living space. There will be an opportunity to share some light cooking tasks (full instructions given), You will share a bathroom and bedroom with one other person (the rooms are large enough to have the space to find your cosy corner, and although it be unfamilior to share a room it is surprisingly easy). I will be organising lift shares to limit car use as much as possible as the car parking is very limited. And by having lift shares we begin to build our community even as we arrive.
Time to share, time to be alone in nature, time to Refill the Well and return renewed - You are invited to look after yourself, take time out when needed, participant in group activities as much and as little as you wish.
Retreats run for 4 days arriving in the early evening leaving after lunch on the final day
Arriving between 5 -6pm for an evening meal at 6.30pm
Two whole days to sketch, walk the local land, share food and immerse yourself in a sense of place
Leaving by 3pm after lunch on the final day
Art materials provided - sketchbooks, watercolours, drawing materials etc
Food - Breakfasts, evening meals and hot drinks and sweet baked treats provided. Bring your own lunches and any snacks you need - either pack-lunch or food to share
Standard price £260 Early bird price £220 - up to one month before the start date, £100 deposit to secure your place - email me to book your place. Limited to 6 places. Contact me if these costs are beyond your means to enquire about accessing a concessionary place
* Digital Detox - you have the option of turning your phone off for the duration of your stay. I can provide a contact number for you to share in case someone needs to get hold of you due to an emergency. This allows you to switch off and unwind from the outside world for a time
Wyndell Cruck Cottage - A stunning three-bedroom Grade II listed cottage resting in Midhopestones near Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire. Original features. Fantastic country views. Near a National Park. Woodburning stove. More info about Wyndell Cruck Cottage here
I asked the 6 participants on my first Creative Retreat if they would recommend this to others, and if so why? And heres what they said….
“yes! yes! yes!"
“Yes it’s magic - the farm, the woods, moors and rocks, the people and our ‘leader’ Colette is a wonderful couldron of possibilities, encouragements, tips and tricks. The integration of stillness and activity worked well"
“Yes. Well facilitated - very experienced artist and teacher. Good range of exercises and materials. Beautiful ancient accommodation. Peaceful and comfortable setting. A refreshing change of scene. Delicious food and sociable meal times”
“I would definitely recommend. Colette has encouraged us to play and thus helped us to work in different ways and i feel this will help me make breakthroughs in my art practice. I feel the course has taken us beyond straight forward making aesthetic images and into capturing something of what ’sense of place’ has meant to us personally"
“Yes. It’s good to be stimulated with some starting points - that helps to take a person away from habitual ‘go tos’ and their own artistic habits as well as alleviating some of the pressure ’to product’ Nice welcoming style, Colette and permission to be. It was all a good balance between ‘getting on with stuff’ and ‘down time’
“Definitely. Beautiful surroundings. Lovely house. Just the right number of people. Excellent facilitation. Closeness to Sheffield is a huge factor for me”
,,,,and the only thing that needed changing was to make it longer - so i have
.
“yes! yes! yes!"
“Yes it’s magic - the farm, the woods, moors and rocks, the people and our ‘leader’ Colette is a wonderful couldron of possibilities, encouragements, tips and tricks. The integration of stillness and activity worked well"
“Yes. Well facilitated - very experienced artist and teacher. Good range of exercises and materials. Beautiful ancient accommodation. Peaceful and comfortable setting. A refreshing change of scene. Delicious food and sociable meal times”
“I would definitely recommend. Colette has encouraged us to play and thus helped us to work in different ways and i feel this will help me make breakthroughs in my art practice. I feel the course has taken us beyond straight forward making aesthetic images and into capturing something of what ’sense of place’ has meant to us personally"
“Yes. It’s good to be stimulated with some starting points - that helps to take a person away from habitual ‘go tos’ and their own artistic habits as well as alleviating some of the pressure ’to product’ Nice welcoming style, Colette and permission to be. It was all a good balance between ‘getting on with stuff’ and ‘down time’
“Definitely. Beautiful surroundings. Lovely house. Just the right number of people. Excellent facilitation. Closeness to Sheffield is a huge factor for me”
,,,,and the only thing that needed changing was to make it longer - so i have
.
